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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Torrance Community Media Meeting - January 7, 2025

City Council — Tuesday, January 7, 2025
BodyTorrance, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, January 7, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

Resume with more than 30 years of corporate

Speaker 2

0:03

leadership.

0:03

Slanger Up has spent the last 20 years leading both public and private companies.

0:08

A former CEO and architect of FedEx Canada, he has helped guide and build technology firms focused in fields ranging from industrial software to clean energy and ballast water treatment.

Speaker 3

0:21

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.

0:23

I spent most of my youth uh there.

0:26

Early in my career, I was uh involved with airplanes and mostly military aircraft.

0:32

So I worked for the Navy for a total of about six years.

0:35

And in that I was trained as an avionics mechanic or technician.

0:39

Then I transferred into the commercial aviation world, and that gave me some experience that was necessary for me to get into what was FedEx or Federal Express at the time.

0:50

It was a tiny little business.

0:51

And uh there was less than a thousand employees when I joined, and when I left, I think it was a couple hundred thousand, and I think it's over 300,000 today.

0:58

So it was just an unbelievable experience.

1:01

And most recently, I I was wooed and asked to join a private equity firm where we uh did this buying and selling of companies for a living.

1:10

And so that's where I was when I got the call for this.

1:13

It was so compelling, I had to listen.

Speaker 4

1:15

The Port of Long Beach has such

Speaker 3

1:17

an incredible reputation that how could you possibly ignore this opportunity.

1:25

The history is based on great leadership that preceded you.

1:29

And that's what the case is here.

1:31

This is a hundred years of great leadership.

1:32

Extraordinary vision and leadership.

1:35

This is incredibly important work.

Unassigned speaker

1:39

I

Speaker 3

1:39

mean, it doesn't get more important than this.

1:42

The impact that the Port of Long Beach has on the overall economy of the region and the national economy is not to be minimized.

1:50

I mean it's a massive, massive responsibility.

1:53

We are an

Speaker 5

1:56

enormous organization.

1:58

And we have billions of construction

Speaker 2

2:02

underway at the same time.

2:05

More than 4.5 billion dollars to be precise.

2:08

Nearing its midway point, the Middle Harbor Modernization Project will create the world's greenest and most technologically advanced terminal, which will process more than three million TEUs annually.

2:19

And the Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement project will create a new Long Beach icon that will allow the world's largest ships to pass below, adding fuel to this already impressive economic engine.

Speaker 3

2:31

What I see is outstanding work.

2:33

What I've seen is meticulous planning, tremendous care and focus about the schedule.

2:39

We need to accelerate where we can.

2:41

We need to re-prioritize where we can.

2:43

We need to not overspend the uh the capital that we're working with.

2:48

I love people who are believers.

2:50

I love people who uh love to innovate and come up with new ideas.

2:54

All of that defines this port, in my view.

2:57

So this is really the mandate here is to bring economic development to the region and build uh an enormous next chapter of this whole story.

Speaker 2

3:07

Just a few days after John Slangerup started working at the port, the new mayor of Long Beach, Robert Garcia, came over to meet John and say hello to all the port employees who are a part of the City of Long Beach staff.

3:18

Mayor Garcia's

Speaker 6

3:19

message was clear.

3:20

I am here on my second day because you are all valued.

3:26

This is the single most important economic engine that we have in the city of Long Beach.

3:32

It's 30,000 direct Long Beach jobs.

3:36

It's hundreds of thousands of jobs.

3:39

And you look at the region, and if the city of Long Beach is going to succeed, the port of Long Beach must succeed as well.

Speaker 2

3:48

Change is always exciting and offers new opportunities.

3:52

When we come back, we'll check out a new development in rail transport that is completely changing the way our goods are moved.

4:12

Welcome back to False of the Port.

4:14

You know, for centuries now, trains have moved goods from ports of entry like the Port of Long Beach to inland cities throughout our nation.

4:21

And while you may not have noticed, these trains have gradually gotten longer and taller, stacking two containers instead of just one.

4:28

And now here at the Port of Long Beach, the biggest trains ever assembled on the West Coast have hit the rails.

4:34

And when I say big, I mean really big.

5:00

A feat no other terminal in America has even attempted.

5:03

This

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Arts And Culture███████████████████████████████31%
Public Health Awareness█████████████████17%
Miscellaneous█████████████13%
Parks and Recreation███████7%
Opera Production██████6%
Food Assistance Programs████4%
Port Management███3%
Technology and Innovation███3%
Engineering And Infrastructure██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Torrance Community Media Meeting - January 7, 2025

The scheduled community broadcast meeting of the Torrance public access channel began at 14:30 UTC on January 7, 2025. The programming aired as a composite of local segments covering city governance, community health, arts recognition, and economic development.

Consent Calendar

  • A Lupus Foundation PSA stated there are 1.5 million patients in the US, with a new diagnosis every half hour.
  • A colon cancer detection PSA urged viewers to get tested, stating colon cancer almost always starts with a polyp.
  • A PEG Access Television advocacy PSA argued for the protection of public access channels, noting over 100 stations have already been lost nationwide.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • John Slangerup, Port of Long Beach CEO, expressed that the port's work is "incredibly important" and that its impact on the economy is "not to be minimized." He stated a mandate for accelerating schedules and not overspending capital.
  • Marcus Rupert, President of Scorpius Space Launch, explicitly stated that "failure is not just an option, it's the ingredient to success," differentiating his company's culture from multi-billion dollar programs.
  • Sherry Roberts, Director of Loving One-by-One Ministries, expressed the goal of giving a "hand up" rather than a handout in Uganda, detailing her organization's school and medical facilities.
  • Vince and Jojo of Pacini Italian Takeout expressed full support for the Torrance community, stating they want "to keep serving the community with our great Italian food."
  • Dr. Balsam expressed concern over untreated hearing loss, stating it can lead to dementia and social isolation.

Discussion Items

  • Port of Long Beach: The broadcast discussed the Middle Harbor project (over 3 million TEUs annually, part of $4.5 billion in active construction) and the Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement (first cable-stayed vehicle bridge in CA, 515-foot towers, 200-foot deck). The port's on-dock rail target of 35% was discussed.
  • Local Business & Innovation: Scorpius's composite linerless tanks for the Nova C lunar lander were featured, requiring over 150 tests for flight qualification. President Marcus Rupert described the 20-person company as turnkey. Pacini's 14-inch pizzas (cooked in 4.5 minutes) and 48-hour fermented dough process were detailed by owners Vince and Jojo.
  • Arts and Culture: The Excellence in Arts awards were discussed. The Southwest Manuscriptors (over 100 members) and the LA Southtown Show Chorus (60 members) were honored. Singer Bill Henderson was interviewed on "Jazz Notes," describing his acting and singing as storytelling.
  • Civic Infrastructure: A segment on tire recycling at Mitsubishi Cement Corp explained the use of 2 million tires per year as fuel in a 250-foot long kiln, with no leftover ash.
  • Health and Fitness: "Senior Scene" covered hearing and vision loss, with Dr. Woolston advising UV protection and regular eye checkups. A beginner resistance training workout (back, biceps, core) was broadcast by Recreation Coordinator Monica.

Key Outcomes

  • The Port of Long Beach's investment of over $4.5 billion in capital construction and the capabilities of its super trains were detailed to the public.
  • Local Torrance businesses (Scorpius Space Launch, Pacini Italian Takeout) received significant promotional airtime.
  • Torrance Cultural Arts Commission Excellence in Arts award winners were profiled, highlighting literary, visual, and performing arts groups.
  • Public health information on hearing, vision, and cancer screening was distributed.
  • An educational program on tire recycling was aired, promoting community environmental awareness.

Meeting Transcript

Resume with more than 30 years of corporate leadership. Slanger Up has spent the last 20 years leading both public and private companies. A former CEO and architect of FedEx Canada, he has helped guide and build technology firms focused in fields ranging from industrial software to clean energy and ballast water treatment. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. I spent most of my youth uh there. Early in my career, I was uh involved with airplanes and mostly military aircraft. So I worked for the Navy for a total of about six years. And in that I was trained as an avionics mechanic or technician. Then I transferred into the commercial aviation world, and that gave me some experience that was necessary for me to get into what was FedEx or Federal Express at the time. It was a tiny little business. And uh there was less than a thousand employees when I joined, and when I left, I think it was a couple hundred thousand, and I think it's over 300,000 today. So it was just an unbelievable experience. And most recently, I I was wooed and asked to join a private equity firm where we uh did this buying and selling of companies for a living. And so that's where I was when I got the call for this. It was so compelling, I had to listen. The Port of Long Beach has such an incredible reputation that how could you possibly ignore this opportunity. The history is based on great leadership that preceded you. And that's what the case is here. This is a hundred years of great leadership. Extraordinary vision and leadership. This is incredibly important work. I mean, it doesn't get more important than this. The impact that the Port of Long Beach has on the overall economy of the region and the national economy is not to be minimized. I mean it's a massive, massive responsibility. We are an enormous organization. And we have billions of construction underway at the same time. More than 4.5 billion dollars to be precise. Nearing its midway point, the Middle Harbor Modernization Project will create the world's greenest and most technologically advanced terminal, which will process more than three million TEUs annually. And the Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement project will create a new Long Beach icon that will allow the world's largest ships to pass below, adding fuel to this already impressive economic engine. What I see is outstanding work. What I've seen is meticulous planning, tremendous care and focus about the schedule. We need to accelerate where we can. We need to re-prioritize where we can. We need to not overspend the uh the capital that we're working with. I love people who are believers. I love people who uh love to innovate and come up with new ideas. All of that defines this port, in my view. So this is really the mandate here is to bring economic development to the region and build uh an enormous next chapter of this whole story. Just a few days after John Slangerup started working at the port, the new mayor of Long Beach, Robert Garcia, came over to meet John and say hello to all the port employees who are a part of the City of Long Beach staff. Mayor Garcia's message was clear. I am here on my second day because you are all valued. This is the single most important economic engine that we have in the city of Long Beach. It's 30,000 direct Long Beach jobs. It's hundreds of thousands of jobs.

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